Sermon Tone Analysis

This morning I want to draw our attention to the eighth chapter of John.

I want us to look at a message today entitled Up Rising.

Up Rising has sort of a militant sound to it.

Certainly it connects us with some words Jesus says.

Today I think the title will become apparent as we go through our text.

But it is that notion of battle we find ourselves in and sometimes wonder if the battle is good, or if it's a sign that maybe we're not doing what God has called us to do.

But today I want us to see the pattern Jesus establishes in the uprising that He would have us to look at today.

So I want to invite your attention to John, chapter 8. We're going to begin in the twenty-first verse and look at this continuing dialog Jesus has with the Pharisees gathered at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Remember now, during the Feast, Jesus has made the claim, "I am that water" that was symbolized by the pouring of water on the altar.

He said, "I am the light of the world" that was symbolized by the lighting of the torches as part of the Feasts' ceremony.

The Pharisees understand what He is saying.

He is claiming to be equal with God.

They're challenging Him on this.

Jesus explains over and over again what He means and who He is.

They seem not to understand that.

So too when we come to our text today.

It says in verse 21 of John, chapter 8, /"Then Jesus said to them again, 'I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin.

Where I go you cannot come.'

So the Jews said, 'Will He kill Himself, because He says, "Where I go you cannot come"?'"/

Now Jesus would not pass the evangelism class.

He would not do too well at the notion of reaching the lost with this very blunt statement He is making.

He doesn't seem to be very open to them at all.

It would cause us to ask…Why is He so blunt?

Why not be clearer at this point?

It's obvious that His audience does not seem to understand what He is claiming and what He is telling them.

They don't seem to understand the gospel news, or perhaps is it that they just simply don't want to believe it?

So the Jews were responding to His claim that He is going to go somewhere they cannot come by asking, "Well maybe He is going to kill Himself."

That sounds very stark for us, but if you understand the Greek culture, suicide was an acceptable form of ending one's life.

People would choose suicide.

It was almost glamorized in that culture.

And so perhaps with that Hellenistic influence in the land of Palestine, the Jews were thinking, Maybe He is taking the Greek way out.

But as we read further, we discover in the next verse (in verse 23), He says to them, /"'You are from beneath; I am from above.

You are of this world; I am not of this world.

Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.'"/

Look back to verse 23.

He says, /"'You are from beneath; I am from above.

You are of this world; I am not of this world.'"/

Now Jesus was born in that same world.

Jesus was born of a virgin.

We're celebrating that in December.

He was definitely in that same world.

So what is it He is meaning here when He says, "You're from beneath, and I am from above"?

He is wanting to communicate a truth, and He is wanting to communicate a truth that I think is deeper (if I can say it that way) than we often think about.

When we think of beneath and above, we think of earth.

We think of heaven.

We think, Well, Jesus is from heaven.

That is true.

He has made those statements.

But I think He is saying something far more provocative here.

Notice He says, "You are of this world; I am not of this world."

Now often we will talk about people being worldly.

Worldly people simply means we got our priorities mixed up.

Sometimes Christian people can be worldly, right?

They can be focused on things of the earth, material possessions, and not focused on the spiritual, not focused on the treasures that are laid up in heaven.

When that happens, when a believer slides into that path, it can be said they're worldly.

But to be of this world is something quite different.

To be of this world means you're not of God.

It means you're not a believer.

It means you're not of the spiritual kingdom.

What Jesus is telling them is, "You are from beneath; you are of this world.

I am not of this world.

If you were of My world, you would understand.

But since you are not of My world, then you are going to die in your sins."

Notice Jesus isn't saying… He isn't really giving them many options here.

He is not really even offering an invitation here.

Jesus can see the heart, and He now knows their heart.

They are to going to die in their sins.

I think often because we can't see into people's hearts when we see someone who is not a believer, see someone who doesn't profess Christ, see someone who is not living the way a believer would live, you know there is always that hope.

But you see Christ can read the heart, and Christ knows that moment.

He knows that time.

He knows that heart that has turned away from Him, to which there is no hope.

Jesus has no problem categorizing them as "Those who will die in their sins."

Jesus recognizes and states to them, "The reason you don't see Me for who I am is because you're going to die in your sin.

You don't know Me, and because you don't know Me you will not understand what I'm trying to say."

So the reason He is so blunt is because He is not going to further cast pearls before swine.

He is not going to spend or waste any more time with these who have heard the truth.

In fact, they've been raised up with Scripture.

But they have chosen to turn away from the Messiah.

Jesus says, "The judgment has come."

Remember back in John 3, Jesus said those are condemned already who do not believe in the Son.

It isn't that if they lived their whole life and they wait till the last second, and then they die and they still don't believe.

I mean, that's the way we have to look at it.

But from God's standpoint, I want you to understand Jesus looks at the unrepentant heart as a permanent condition.

He knows those who will not accept Him, and He has little tolerance for them.

He says, "You are condemned already."

He says to them, "You're from beneath; I'm from above.

You are of this world."

Worldly folks get their priorities mixed up, but of this world folks, they live in the world.

That means they depend on the world's logic, the world's parameters, to make decisions in life.

Worldly people have fallen into a sinful pattern, but people who are of this world can't help but make their decisions based on the things of the world.

In other words, they make their decisions pragmatically.

They make their decisions based on their life experience.

They're the ones who say, "Well God gave me a brain too."

In other words, they'll look at Scripture, and Scripture will dictate you walk a certain path.

They'll say, "Yeah, but common sense tells me that I need to do this."

They choose that.

Why?

Because they are of this world.

Church members who are of this world are those who live in the world.

They don't know Christ as Savior because they make their bottom-line decisions based on human thinking, based on human logic.